The advance of miniaturization of semiconductor devices has increased the difficulty in performing microfabrication by use of a conventional photolithography technique, and alternative techniques to replace the conventional technique have been demanded. Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is gaining increasing attention as one of such alternative techniques.
According to the nanoimprint lithography technique, in a state that a mold (e.g., a template) having recesses and protrusions corresponding to a pattern to be transferred is brought into pressure contact with a light-curable substance applied to, for example, a substrate to be treated, the light-curable substance is cured by irradiation with light from the back surface of the mold; and thereby the pattern formed in the mold is transferred.